Extra, Extra: Baby Penguins, Policing Stats, and Union Station Update

Every weekday’s end, Extra, Extra collects just about everything you ought to care about or ought not miss.

Photos courtesy of the Toronto Zoo.

Baby penguins! The Toronto Zoo has announced that one African penguin chick was born at the end of January, and two more eggs have been laid, with births expected later this month. Caretakers can’t immediately tell what sex the penguin chicks are—that will be determined later by a blood test—but the six-week-old will eventually be called either Eldon or Ellie, once they know. Eldon/Ellie was born to parents Gozi and Puff, and has survived the highest-risk period for African penguins, their first three weeks after birth. Buddy and Pedro, the same sex penguin companions Toronto fell for last year, are now both part of opposite-sex pairs in the zoo’s breeding program. Sadly, Buddy fathered two chicks who died in February. Pedro and his partner have yet to produce any eggs, but the zoo reports they are “actively engaged in courtship and nesting behaviour.”

Transit alert: as construction proceeds on the revitalization of Union Station, there are some new limitations on how you can move through the station. As of tomorrow, the TTC has announced, “stairwell closures, moat door closures and hoarding restrictions will result in delays to pedestrians travelling though the Toronto Transit Commission’s Union Station.” Fortunately, subway service itself will not be affected.

A new map from the Toronto Star reveals that in every single part of Toronto police stop more black people than white people—on average 3.2 times more often. It’s an important wake-up call in a city that prides itself on its respect for diversity.

A new garden for Roncesvalles and Dundas? Some residents are hoping for one, to commemorate the War of 1812.